Solemn Duty
by TrueWarrior
Summary: Three days after his showdown over Avalon Dam, Cipher returns to Hierlark AFB for debriefing. Following the debrief, he meets P.J.'s family to bring them the news what happened to their son.


SOLEMN DUTY

Author: TrueWarrior

Genre: General/Drama

Summary: Upon returning from his showdown with Pixy, Cipher returns to Hierlark and meets P.J.'s family to tell them what happened to their son.

JANUARY 2, 1996

1141 Hours

Hierlark Air Force Base

Captain Marcos Kinkaid, also known as Cipher, the Demon Lord of the Round Table, and flight lead for Galm Team's 6th Air Unit, 66th Tactical Unit hated this part of his job. He remembered who and what he was, and it was his bounden duty as a combat fighter pilot to ensure the safety of his comrades, to fly off into a nation and see that the enemy was destroyed or disabled. He had followed those orders to a "T", flawlessly executing his mission without difficulty. Many had fallen to his swift piloting over areas such as the Futuro Canal and the now-toppled airspace formerly known as the Round Table.

Thinking on the present, he was ill-prepared for his duty as the bearer of bad news. His former wingman, the young Patrick James Beckett, barely a man, was killed on his watch. Shot down by his previous wingman, a man who he had considered his brother in arms, Larry Foulke. He, Cipher, could still see P.J.'s F-16 Falcon destroyed by a laser from an unidentified craft.

It had taken Cipher all of his will and determination to destroy his former wingman. He was unsure if he had survived that crash or not, but he was certain that P.J. did not. Which brought him now to this duty. He had been exhausted mentally, not wanting to take down his former wingman. The burning trail in the sky where P.J.'s Falcon was a split second ago, was now gone. The young man, who was younger than Cipher himself, was not going to be around for another birthday. His girlfriend that he had proposed to was now a weeping widow.

Eagle Eye's counting down until the destruction of V-2 over Avalon Dam almost seemed to have no effect on Cipher, but Cipher engaged his former wingman despite the fact he was exhausted. For several long minutes, the two zigzagged over Avalon, trying to outwit and ultimately destroy one another. Cipher's _F-15E Strike Eagle_ had taken extensive damage during the course of the final flight, courtesy of two burst missile strikes from Pixy's fighter. He heard Pixy's taunt as V-2 started to descend down.

"_We're going to start over from Zero with this V-2, and entrust the future to the new generation._"

_Cipher was not and did not allow that to happen. _"_This is AWACS, listen up, Galm 1!"_

"_Tell me some good news, AWACS!" Cipher demanded, trying to steady his shaking plane. "I don't know how much more this plane can take!"_

_Cipher knew AWACS was nodding in acknowledgment and reported briskly, "We've completed analysis of the enemy craft. Codename: Morgan. This plane is protected by an advanced ECM defense system. It's only weak point is in its front air intakes."_

"_Well, that's very perceptive AWACS, but how do I destroy this plane without my plane breaking up in the process?" Cipher snapped._

"_You'll have to attack it head-on," AWACS added._

"_Wonderful," Cipher mused. "Pixy and I playing chicken in the air."_

"_Go. Take down Morgan. You're the only one who can stop him. Demon Lord of the Round Table, I pray for your success." With that, Cipher ignited his afterburners, preparing to engage his former wingman._

"_You and I are like opposite sides of the same coin. There may be a resemblance, but we never face the same direction." Pixy's taunting seemed to awaken a rage inside Cipher. On various occasions during the dogfight, Pixy was not lining up into the proper line of sight needed for Cipher to fire. That was just how the two flied._

_Cipher had an opening and fired off an AIM 9M Sidewinder, followed successfully with another._

_Then Pixy zoomed by Cipher, nearly causing a mid-air collision. Cipher knew his intentions and peeled hard right just before a Sidewinder could reach him. "V-2 re-entry in four minutes!" AWACS reported._

"_Now we see who's number one!" Pixy applauded, admiring his former wingman's piloting. The two flew back and forth, each trying to get a lock on one another._

"_Fox 2!" Cipher launched another Sidewinder, but the shot went well off, as Morgan was banking left and away from the impact._

_There was another moment and as they approached each other again, neither had a clear shot and swerved in the opposite direction. "Looks like we both still got what it takes!" Larry commented._

"_V-2 re-entry in two minutes!" AWACS was alarmed and rightfully so. With each missed opportunity to destroy Morgan, the doomsday missile left unchecked remained a threat so long as Pixy controlled it._

_Finally, Cipher unleashed two more Sidewinders and noticed that Pixy was starting to show signs of sluggishness in his flying. Morgan was trailing smoke, but yet he still managed to face his former wingman. _"_Fire away, coward!_" Pixy screamed.

"_I'll always remember you, Larry,_" Cipher uttered.

"_COOOOME ON!_**"** And Cipher fired his final missile. Like two vehicles playing one final round of chicken on the road, both Cipher and Pixy came at one another. In the end, Pixy and his craft exploded, along with V-2.

Cipher surveyed the ground for a brief moment and then back to where he shot down his former wingman. "_Mission accomplished, Cipher!_" Eagle Eye declared triumphantly. "_Come on, let's go back home._ _We don't want anyone waiting for you._"

Cipher's answer was automatic and laced in exhaustion. _"Roger. Galm 1 returning to base._" He averted his gaze briefly to a photograph near his flight stick. It was a picture of his wife Teiya and their ten-year-old son Adrian.

That happened three days ago, and it was the end of Belkan War. Cipher was back at Hierlark Air Force Base and was in the pilot's lounge, currently in an informal debriefing. He felt grief and anger at his former wingman but the feeling shifted away as he heard the footfalls of a woman's high-heels. Cipher held his head high as he and his commanding officer Major Franco Garobildi finished the debriefing. Seated in the room, finishing up some notes was the Osean Broadcast Channel's Brett Thompson, a freelance interviewer who had been trying to find information on what really instigated the war.

Two women and one man, one was thirty-five year old and the other who was twenty-four, entered solemnly as they gazed at Cipher, who was in a military uniform with distinguished badges and other smaller medals of honor. Cipher had spoken to the two of them and wanted to meet with them to deliver the news in person. Sandra Beckett, P.J.'s mother, was a woman who wore simple glasses on her face, and she worked as a librarian. Beside Sandra stood P.J.'s father, Taylor. Taylor was a cab driver, and a volunteer for a local charity. Beside the Beckett's was Gywnyth Hamley, P.J.'s fiancée.

During Operation: Ravage en route to Hoffnung, Crow squadron ribbed P.J. about talking to Gywnyth while on the mission. P.J.'s simple answer had been that he would never do something like that while still flying. Cipher had taken the duty himself to call P.J.'s parents and his fiancée about what had happened over Avalon, not hiding how he felt. He had explained in detail the mission.

"Your son was a model pilot to the very end, Mrs. Beckett," Cipher said, his eyes and jaw stern. "He did his duty and failed no one."

Sandra nodded sadly, listening to Cipher's words. A part of her hated Gorobildi and the entire air force for assigning Galm team and Crow team to Hoffnung and the sorties afterward. But after hearing Cipher call her directly and report the sad news to her, she respected him.

"Are you a family man, Captain?" Taylor asked.

Cipher turned, not surprised at the heavy question coming from Taylor. "I have a wife and son," he answered.

"And do you think about them when you go off to battle?"

Cipher nodded. "My son, Adrian, is ten years old. He can take care of himself. He's only in the fifth grade and he has a crazy notion that he wants to be a fighter pilot like me."

Cipher looked Sandra in the eye, not betraying the sadness in his own eyes. He didn't even notice the slight tugging on the woman's long skirt. "Who's that man, auntie?" a little voice asked.

Sandra gazed down into the eyes of a five-year old child. His eyes were small and the size of green emeralds, yet there was a slight spark of intensity, almost as if they were concentrating on something. His hair was a short sandy brown, slowly starting to grow straight. It was properly cut, even for this occasion. Scooping up the child in her arms, Sandra smiled and answered, "That man is your uncle's wingman, Hans."

Taylor smiled as Cipher walked toward the child. He took the child's small hand into his and smiled. "Hello, little one. My name is Marcos," he said, taking the child's hand into his. He shook it ever so gently. "I take it that you are P.J's young nephew? You have the eyes of archers that helped the Belkan Knights of the Round Table."

"Uncle P.J. always said that," Hans answered.

"He was right," Sandra smoothly said. "It's amazing. Hans is only five but he's fascinated by fighter jets like crazy."

"My son Adrian is the same way," Cipher asserted. "Can you believe that he's interested in being a fighter pilot just like his old man?"

"How old is he?" Sandra asked curiously.

"Ten." Cipher chuckled. "What kind of ten year old thinks of flying?" He knelt next down to Hans and smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hans. Again, you have my heartfelt condolences on the loss of your uncle."

"You too, Cap'n Cipher."

As soon as Cipher left, Brett Thompson quickly rose from his seat. He had previously sent in his interview videos, and there was still one man that eluded him. "Uhh, Captain Kinkaid, can we talk? For the Osean Broadcast Channel?"


End file.
